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dinsdag 26 juni 2012

Don't worry; Alex Trebek will be listening to contestants answer in the form of a question again shortly.

"Jeopardy!" host Trebek is "in good spirits" and on the mend after suffering a heart attack on Saturday, a spokeswoman from Sony Pictures Television said on Monday. And while the 71-year-old game-show icon is still hospitalized, he has been transferred to a regular room at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.

"Alex is up and about and in good spirits while doctors complete their testing at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute," the spokeswoman said. "He has been moved to a regular room today and looks forward to returning home as soon as his doctors give their approval."

As reported on Sunday, Trebek is expected to be back on the set when production begins on the next season of "Jeopardy!" in July.

Trebek, who has been hosting "Jeopardy!" since 1984, said last month that he's considering retiring from the game show after his 30th season as host. Trebek told Fox News' Chris Wallace that he may spend his remaining years doing charity work.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Aaron Sorkin sent a big ol' mash note to himself with Sunday's premiere of "The Newsroom."

Vulture pinpoints 14 moments from the pilot of HBO's new series that sound eerily similar to previous Sorkin projects such as "The West Wing," "Sports Night" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" -- and if it sounds like there's an echo in here, don't worry. There's nothing wrong with your hearing, it's just Sorkin being Sorkin. While virtually quoting Sorkin.

The similarities start at the top of the pilot, as Jeff Daniels' Will McAvoy attends a political panel and talk turns to the National Endowment for the Arts.

"I am not happy to pay for a painting I don't want to look at, poetry I don't want to read," the conservative panelist huffs.

Sound familiar? It might, Vulture points out, if you had seen the "West Wing" episode "He Shall From Time to Time," in which a Republican congressman asserts, " I don't know what to say to people who argue that the N.E.A. is there to support art that nobody wants to pay for in the first place."

Vulture also points out that, in "The Newsroom," McAvoy grouses that the U.S. has the highest number of adults "who believe that angels are real," whereas on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," the Matt Albie character gripes that "68 percent of Americans believe in angels."

Even the concept of ichthyophobia resurfaces in Sorkin's latest venture, as it's revealed that the Mackenzie MacHale character (played by Emily Mortimer) has a fear of jellyfish, while "Sports Night"'s Dana Whitaker (portrayed by Felicity Huffman) suffers from a phobia of fish in general.

Maybe Sorkin figures that, if you're going to borrow, you might as well borrow from the best? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

At any given time, there are thousands of films in production all around the world, from studio pictures crammed with A-listers to indie productions and Bollywood extravaganzas.

And then there’s this little Lifetime movie being shot in L.A. that’s generating breaking news. That’s right, Lifetime -- the lady channel specializing in Army Wives, Dance Moms and Jennifer Love Hewitt. This suddenly au courant network owes its new notoriety to the trouble magnet known as Lindsay Lohan.

In a genius move that must have required therapy for their insurance people, Lifetime cast Lindsay in "Liz & Dick," their Elizabeth Taylor biopic about her battle royale romance with Richard Burton. Since then, I can’t get away from images of LiLo as Liz and hear about her issues on the set and the subsequent denials. And the re-emergence of Lindsay (I won’t say 'rebirth' until she’s sober at the premiere) made me realize that she’s the sole dues-paying member of a once very active L.A. chapter of the Bad Girls' Club.

Britney, Paris, Nicole: There was a point where every day would bring new antics that supported the 24-hour news cycle -- mug shots, Vegas weddings, meltdowns. When Lindsay pledged, she was on her way to being a true star. While motherhood, maturity and pharmaceuticals have tamed some of these women, Lindsay’s still dealing with “exhaustion,” reduced to making made-for-TV movies and possibly starring with a porn star in a Bret Easton Ellis movie.

She’s certainly being given some opportunities, but they’re the kind of consolation prizes that you need humility to accept and understanding to process. No one really knows what she’s capable of now. Before, you could see the potential and raise your expectations accordingly. Now you see the ruins and have to imagine the city that might precariously perch on them.

I’d prefer a media blackout about "Liz & Dick" until Lindsay does the publicity tour, looking clear and speaking coherently and maturely about her experience. Right now, it seems like things could go either way; she could end up closing down the L.A. chapter of the Bad Girls' Club or she’ll become the president emeritus.

I don’t know if Lindsay’s reached the point of Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder resurrections. I know that I could only think of two recent success stories but many more lost careers and lives. I’m hoping that she can be the third. I can never resist rooting for the underdog.

The image shows Bubba Lewis (Simon), Joey Pollari (Will), Mark L Young (Neil) and Zack Pearlman (Jay) in action as the characters made famous by Joe Thomas, Simon Bird, Blake Harrison and James Buckley in the original Channel 4 show.

The Reservoir Dogs-esque picture suggests that some key elements from the series, such as Simon's bright yellow Cinquecento Hawaii and Will's infamous briefcase, will also feature in the adaptation.

The Inbetweeners USA has received the backing of Anthony Head, who cameoed in The Inbetweeners Movie as Will's father and whose daughter Emily starred in the original series as Carli D'Amato.

Roseanne Barr better slap on the SPF 50 sunscreen, because things are about to get a tad hot for her.

Barr has been tapped as the latest subject of the Comedy Central roast series, the network said Monday.

The special will tape in Los Angeles on Aug. 4 and air on Comedy Central on Aug. 12.

Ken Alterman, head of original programming and production for Comedy Central, said that he hoped the roast would be entertaining, despite Barr's low-key personality and history.

“Although Roseanne appears to be a demure, soft spoken woman eternally committed to the status quo, we believe under the surface is an explosive, trail-blazing cultural revolution. We are honored to roast her,” Alterman said. “Celebrating Roseanne’s unprecedented achievements in comedy and television will surely inspire us to make this roast more reminiscent of the classic roasts, where the intimacy of friends jousting with each other came through.”

Barr also expressed her reservations about the upcoming roast's chances, citing her unblemished record of staunch conformity.

“All I can say is good luck finding anything about me to make fun of," Barr said. "I mean, I've never made a mistake or offended anyone in my life!”

Jodie Marsh has confirmed that she would be open to an appearance in Dancing on Ice.

Speaking to Digital Spy earlier this month, before reports of her involvement on the show emerged at the weekend, the glamour model-turned-bodybuilder jested that she would love the chance to put the skills she learnt at Stringfellows to the test.

Asked if she is interested in appearing on Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing on Ice, Marsh replied: "I'd love to do one of those, yeah. I used to be a dancer before I got known... I used to do competitions all around the country in dance.

"And then as an adult I worked at Stringfellows [strip club], which is still a kind of dance. So yeah, I love dance, and I'd love to do Strictly or Dancing on Ice."

Departing EastEnders actor Matt Lapinskas has also been rumoured for a place on Dancing on Ice 2013.

Emmerdale star Matthew Wolfenden was crowned the winner of this year's series in March, triumphing over Hollyoaks favourite Jorgie Porter.

The premiere of Aaron Sorkin's new drama "The Newsroom" got off to a respectable start Sunday night, landing the third-highest series premiere numbers for HBO since 2008 and coming in just slightly behind the series premiere of "Game of Thrones."

The premiere of "The Newsroom," which stars Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston, grabbed 2.1 million total viewers with its 10 p.m. airing. That's a far cry from the numbers for "Boardwalk Empire," which amassed 4.8 million viewers for its 2010 premiere, but is within spitting distance of "Game of Thrones," which premiered with 2.2 million total viewers in April 2010.

"The Newsroom" bow also beat out the series premieres of "True Blood" (which took in 1.4 million total viewers) and "Luck" (which received 1.1 million).

"The Newsroom" pulled in an additional 513,000 viewers with an 11:15 p.m. encore airing, bringing the tally for the night up to 2.7 million.

Sunday night also saw "True Blood" draw approximately 5 million total viewers across its two airings, with the 9 p.m. airing pulling in 4.7 milion viewers and another 324,000 tuning in for the 12:30 a.m. encore.

HBO is also streaming the premiere episode via a number of platforms, including for free on YouTube.

Comedy writing duo Neil and Rob Gibbons, who penned tonight's Welcome to the Places of My Life, revealed that they have steered away from the tone of a usual Partridge show.

Neil Gibbons told the Radio Times: "We didn't say right, let's crowbar some pathos in. But we did think that to sustain it for an hour we needed to pull back the curtain a little bit more.

"We wanted Welcome to be a slightly more personal journey than he anticipated: another story bubbles away on the side which gives us an excuse to drop the TV presenter act a bit."

Teasing Partridge's presenting style, he added: "It was meant to be more that Alan has seen those programmes and seen them do well. He's thought, I could do that. Alan watches the way the wind blows in broadcasting."

Dylan McDermott experienced a real-life American horror story as a child, police in his hometown of Waterbury, Conn., say.

The Associated Press reports that Waterbury police have determined that "The Practice" actor's mother, Diane McDermott, was murdered by her boyfriend John Sponza in February 1967, when the actor was just five years old.

After reopening the investigation into McDermott's death last year, police said that they had enough evidence to charge Sponza with murder.

Sponza, who according to police had ties to organized crime, was shot to death in 1972. Sponza's body was found in a car trunk in the parking lot of a Waltham, Mass., grocery store.

McDermott's death was initially ruled an accident, after Sponza told police that she had inadvertently shot herself when she handled a gun that he had been cleaning. However, after the actor approached the police with questions, they reopened the investigation and determined that the gun found near her body was too small a caliber to have been the weapon that killed her. Police also determined that the gun had been pressed to the back of McDermott's head.

Waterbury police superintendent Michael Gugliotti admitted that the first investigation had been lacking.

"What troubled me was that there was very little follow-up other than the statement Sponza had given to police," he said.

Gugliotti added that witnesses -- including McDermott -- recalled that the couple had a violent relationship, despite Sponza's characterization.

"Sponza is telling the police that night that he very rarely, if ever, had arguments, yet everyone we spoke to, including Dylan, who was only 5 at the time, remembered very violent, vicious arguments," Gugliotti said. "Dylan vividly recalls the amount of times, not only flashing the gun, but pointing it at the kid, saying, 'Shut up and get out of here.' He's still probably traumatized by that."

The USA Network named Scott Friedman vice president of production for alternative programming Monday morning.

A former production executive for the company, Friedman's promotion marks a shift toward more reality television programming, which he helped bring tot he network.

The network recently announced a series of "inspirational" reality shows, including "The Moment," expected to air this fall, in which Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner helps people achieve dreams like becoming a race car driver or deep sea diver after abandoning them to work 9-to-5 jobs.

Other reality pilots it's looking at include include "Bride or Best Man" in which a groom and best man try to plan a wedding, and the competition "Romancing the Globe," in which contestants look for love all over the world.

"As we expand our originals to include reality, this is the perfect time to add an experienced alternative production executive to the USA team," Mark Binke, Universal's senior vice president of cable and digital production, said in a statement.

USA recently announced the pilot pick-up of "Bride or Best Man," along with the the new series "Romancing the Globe." These follow the announcement of the pilots for two other series, "The Choir" and "The Moment."

Friedman previously produced Morningstar Entertainment, where he oversaw production for numerous shows on A&E Network, Spike TV, The History Channel and The Travel Channel. He also served as vice president of production finance for Twentieth Television, overseeing budgets and production for pilots and series, including the popular "America's Most Wanted" and "Divorce Court.'

A graduate of the elite American Film Institute, Friedman also produced an award-winning short called "Colored Balloons" and also helped develop video games for GTE Interactive.

Big Brother housemate Deana Uppal has complained about feeling "bullied" in the house, while Conor McIntyre has been warned by Big Brother about aggressive behaviour.

Following the 'Confusing Cuisine' task, Deana came in for heavy criticism from some of her co-stars and was accused of faking her strong reaction to having to eat tinned ham and hot sauce.

Arron Lowe shouted during the challenge: "It's time for your Oscar, the cameras are rolling!" Meanwhile, Caroline Wharrum claimed that the Miss India UK star had a "stupid reaction" to the task.

After it was revealed that Deana was the only person to fail the task, Arron had a strop in the garden, shouting: "Stupid bitch, keep that girl away from me!"

Luke Anderson offered some rare support to Deana, claiming that she did the best she could in the situation.

However, in the living room the housemates were joking about Deana's epilator. Conor picked it up and shouted angrily: "Get your epilator and stick it up your a**e. We don't give a f**k! Stick it up her f**king m**ge, stupid b**tard.

"I'm gonna play loads of pranks on her. F**king piece of s**t, I don't give a f**k if I'm pulled up to the Diary Room."

When asked how he would react if Deana threw water over him, he replied that he would "punch" her.

Following Conor's comments, he was brought into the Diary Room and reminded about Big Brother's rules on language and behaviour.

Arron and Conor continued to moan about Deana following his stint in the Diary Room, claiming that she should have "sorted her head out" for the task.

"Too many people are in here for the wrong reason, they've come in here to be irritating pri*ks!" moaned Arron.

Two girls are kicked out of the Geordie Shore Cancun shared house in episode one tonight after a bust-up with the party pad's boss.

After breaking Cancun Chris's rules and going out partying when they are supposed to be looking after the house, the duo get a shock when they are told to pack their bags and leave.

The MTV reality show's summer specials will centre on the Newcastle clan's partying in Mexico and the relationship of Vicky Pattison and Ricci Guarnaccio, who ended up getting engaged during the trip.

Other highlights from episode one include Charlotte-Letitia Crosby turning down the advances of her co-star Gaz Beadle, Holly Hagan admitting that she still has feelings for James Tindale and a sex position contest between Charlotte and Sophie Kasaei during a beach party.